An 11-Year-Old Sabahan Learns Her Grandpa Has Been Raping Her During A Sex Education Class

The child's lack of knowledge about what her grandfather was doing had allowed him to continue with his actions if not for a sex education class at her school.

According to a report in The Star Online, the Year Five pupil confided to a teacher after realising that she had been sexually abused during a lesson about sex at school.

According to Daily Express Online, a newspaper from East Malaysia, the farmer grandfather, who had been raping her since she was in Primary Five, had last raped the girl between 7pm and midnight at a house in Tenggilan, Tamparuli in February 2019.

After the victim's mother lodged the police report, the grandfather was arrested.

On Thursday, 21 March, the culprit was was sentenced to 27 years in jail by Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court Judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim.

While he was ordered to serve the jail sentence from 7 March, he was spared the rotan due to his age. He was charged under Section 376 (3) of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of 30 years and whipping, Daily Express Online reported.

Citing the case as an example, SAWO president Winnie Yee said this is why her organisation has been fighting to ensure that children, even as young as four to five years of age, should be learning about sex in schools, reported FMT.

She said that while the incident was sad, it proved that sex education matters.

"There are many instances where adults touch children inappropriately, but children do not understand that it is wrong. We need to teach them the boundaries (of private parts), especially since the culprits are usually family members of the victims," she said.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg, actually. During our studies in the many districts in Sabah, there were many other unreported cases. This case is certainly not unique. Many of the children simply do not understand what happened to them.

"At the same time, teachers have a big responsibility to be the eyes and ears (of the authorities) sometimes, and they must know how to take action when students confide in them," FMT reported her as saying, adding that sex education does not mean students are taught about sexual activities.

She explained that in sex ed classes, children are taught about inappropriate behaviour, especially what to do when adults who are close to them take advantage of them.

According to Winnie, it is important to have a staff member, whether a teacher or counsellor, talk about sex education in school instead of an invited speaker.

"Every school needs to have someone who can handle and talk about these issues. This is because if the students need someone to talk to, that person in charge can take proper action immediately," she was quoted as saying by The Star Online.

"Without correct information and skills to cope with the growth to adulthood, some adolescents and young people experiment with drugs and engage in unprotected sex, thus increasing their risk of unwanted pregnancies as well as contracting HIV, hepatitis and other sexually transmitted diseases," the UNICEF report said.